THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard RUSSIA-UKRAINE NAVI MUMBAI RANKED CLEANEST CITY IN LATEST GOVT SURVEY AGREEMENT DONE ON PRISONER SWAP NEW DELHI FOLLOWS AT SECOND SPOT The two adversaries agreed to a large exchange of prisoners of war, both sides said on Wednesday as two days of US mediated talks concluded A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) won the second rank in the ‘Clean City’ category among urban local bodies with a population of 50,000 to three lakh in the Swachh Survekshan 2026. Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa topped the list of cleanest riverfront towns, followed by Bilaspur and Varanasi. In the ‘Swachh Coastal Town’ category, Puri ranked first, followed by Alappuzha and Ratnagiri | P3 & P7 PAGES 12 Amid poll prep, fertiliser subsidy goes up by 64% Prohibitory orders still stand: SC on anti-CEC stir S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Cabinet approves `62,370 crore allocation as against previous season’s `37,952 crore crore, about `24.4 crore more than that for Rabi 2025-26. THE Union Cabinet on WednesThe government also apday approved `62,370 crore for proved a package to boost doNutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) mestic production of sulphur for phosphatic and potassic and sulphuric acid. Sulphur (P&K) fertilisers for the 2026-27 manufacturers will get 20 per Rabi season, a 64 per cent in- cent of the actual procurement crease from the `37,952 crore cost, subject to a floor price of allocated last year, amid a sharp USD 800 per tonne. For sulphurise in global fertiliser prices. ric acid, the support will be 20 “Fertiliser prices had risen per cent of the actual procuresharply due to geopoment cost, subject to litical developments, Noida Metro’s a floor price of USD particularly the West 266.67 per tonne. Aqua Line In other decisions, Asia crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war. With the assembly the Cabinet approved elections in Uttar a combined allocaBut the government Pradesh drawing tion of over `9,000 has decided to absorb a substantial part of near, the Centre on crore for continuing t h e c o s t b u r d e n Wednesday okayed credit guarantee sup`2,390 crore port under the Pradthrough subsidies to ensure farmers con- extension of Noida han Mantri Mudra tinue to receive ferti- Metro’s Aqua line, Yojana and Stand-Up lisers at affordable paving the way for India scheme for anprices,” Union Infor- better connectivity other five years, until mation & Broadcast- between Noida and March 31, 2031. Greater Noida Under the revised ing Minister Ashwini (West). P4 Mudra nor m, the Vaishnaw said. The subsidy has Centre approved a been set at `94.21 per kg for ni- corpus of `5,000 crore for the trogen, `66.11 per kg for phos- Credit Guarantee Fund for Miphorus and `10.42 per kg for cro Units (CGFMU). The annusulphur, while the rate for pot- al guarantee fee has also been ash has been left unchanged at reduced from 1% to 0.75%. The `2.38 per kg. government expects the exVaishnaw said the tentative tended facility to facilitate budgetary requirement for the loans worth about `12.6 lakh Rabi season is around `62,370.02 crore over the next five years. M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi A security official stands guard at a CRPF checkpoint after the attack in Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday | PTI 3 jawans injured in J&K terror strike F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar THREE CRPF personnel were injured when bike-borne militants attacked a CRPF naka party (checkpoint team) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday. This is the third attack in south Kashmir since July . A CRPF official said two bikeborne militants fired a volley of bullets from automatic AK47s towards the men from the 46th Battalion at Nowpora Akhran in Kulgam district’s Mir Bazar around 2.15 pm. The injured personnel were S H A H I D F A R I D I @ New Delhi N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi ISRAEL APPROVES KEY PANEL IN PARLIAMENT Knesset voted to approve an Arrangements Committee enabling the anti-Netanyahu bloc to take control of the parliamentary agenda | P9 Rohu JAMMU & KASHMIR Monghall Mir Bazaar Road KULGAM Forah MAP NOT TO SCALE Lalan Kadel to track down the militants. Personnel were also conducting searches and frisking of vehicles in south Kashmir and other parts of the Valley. Top security officials also visited the area. An official said security officials are analysing CCTV footage from the spot and surroundings to zero-in on the attackers. CCTV footage of the attack has gone viral. In July, militants launched attacks in Anantnag and Kulgam, killing a policeman in one and two workers from Chhattisgarh in the other. Wednesday’s attack comes after police put up posters in Srinagar announcing a reward for information on four militants. One of them, Mohammad Lateef Bhat from Kulgam, is being hunted for his role in the July attacks. BJP plans two-day huddle to evolve narrative to counter CJP, Congress Boy’s body parts found at water treatment plant THE body of a four-year-old boy, who went missing after falling into a sewer in outer Delhi’s Nilothi area, was recovered in several pieces from a water treatment plant on Wednesday more than 24 hours , after the incident. The child, a resident of Mohan Garden, had accompanied his mother to Dass Garden Park. He reportedly moved towards a drain to relieve himself when he fell into an open sewer manhole near Kheri Baba Pul, along the Ganda Nala, on Tuesday DCP (Outer) , Vikram Singh said. Upon receiving the information, the police went to the spot. Teams from the Delhi Fire Services and the National Disaster Response Force joined them in a search operation. Following the sewer and drain route, the teams eventually reached the Water Treatment Plant in Nilothi, Nihal Vihar, where they found the dismembered body the DCP said. , The remains were retrieved and sent to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for preservation and autopsy DNA profiling . will be conducted to establish the child’s identity Singh said. , The police registered a case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. evacuated to Government Medical College Hospital in Anantnag. A doctor treating them said two had sustained minor injuries and were discharged while the third took a bullet in the abdomen and had to be operated upon. The jawan, identified as Head Constable Somveer Singh, was later airlifted to Army hospital in Srinagar. J&K Lieutenant Gover nor Manoj Sinha was in Kulgam district but not near the scene of the attack. Police, army and CRPF personnel launched a massive combing and search operation READY FOR BIG DAY Preparations underway for Chhath Puja at Yamuna Ghat in Wazirabad | PTI | P3 Okayed to buy 2 medical devices, but bought 448 from same firms: ACB EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi A chargesheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in the alleged Delhi medical procurement scam details how tenders were manipulated to favour two pharmaceutical companies, causing an estimated loss of `842 crore to the government. It names three public servants—Dr Vinod Kumar Ranga, Head of Office of the Central Procurement Agency (CPA); Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) chief Dr Vatsala Agg arwal; and former CPA Deputy Controller of Accounts Neeraj Chopra—along with two companies, F-Med Devices and M Sahib and Sons Private Lim- ited. Both firms are allegedly owned by pharma trader Rajiv Rangila, arrested as one of the alleged masterminds of the fraud. The ACB alleged that tender conditions were tailored to favour the selected firms and discourage competing bidders. Their bills were cleared within a day or two, while other suppliers re por tedly waited nearly two years for payment. The alleged manipulation was particularly evident in the procurement of Xray machines. Although the CPA planned to procure 448 machines, the chargesheet said, a tender for just two was uploaded on the Gover nment e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, allegedly to restrict competition. P4 THE BJP’s top leadership has decided to have a two-day brainstorming session on November 27-28 in the National Capital Region to devise strategies to counter the political narrative and influence of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) among young Indians, and the increasingly aggressive political campaign of the Congress. The meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party’s national officebearers and prominent ministers from the Union Cabinet. According to sources, the party leaders will be asked to suggest ways to reverse the ruling party’s escalating struggles in countering Opposition narratives, a challenge that has been significantly amplified on social media platforms where Big challenge before the ruling party Looking past the immediate electoral calculus, the deliberations reveal a more profound predicament facing the BJP: to maintain hegemony over political discourse, as a progressively assertive cohort of opponents increasingly challenges entrenched narratives Generation Z activists have surfaced as increasingly vocal detractors of the government. No less perturbing for the BJP is the resurgence of Congress’ assertiveness, which is evidently resonating with younger demographics through its persistent critique of the administration regarding electoral integrity, joblessness, and the purported exploitation of democratic institutions. At its two-day huddle, the party leadership is poised to deliberate on strategies for fortifying grassroots mobilisation, refining political communication, and re-establishing connection with the younger electorate. The recent public gathering of the Opposition INDIA bloc in Delhi, coupled with its aggressive campaign opposing the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, has significantly escalated political tensions, prompting the BJP to take counter-mobilisation initiatives. The two-day deliberations will also prepare electoral strategies for the upcoming Assembly elections, placing specific emphasis on UP a region where , the BJP is poised to encounter a formidable challenge to its established political hegemony . THE Supreme Court has clarified that the prohibitory orders imposed in Delhi during the anti-CEC protests in October remain in force, making it clear that its earlier direction to remove a notice board announcing the curbs did not amount to lifting or suspending them. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mahadevan said that its direction was being misconstrued and misused by certain elements to suggest that the prohibitory orders in and around the Supreme Court premises had been lifted. The bench, therefore, recalled paragraph 16(e) of its October 11 order and clarified that nothing prevented the competent authority from displaying the notice board again, provided the movement of advocates, litigants and others having business before the court was properly regulated. The clarification came while the court was hearing 33 matters arising from the restrictions imposed in Delhi in October 2026 in connection with the then proposed protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10 against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the events that followed. The October 11 direction to remove the notice board was intended to ensure that it did not create fear about entry into or exit from the SC or any other court. “The direction did not stay, suspend or otherwise dilute any prohibitory order issued under Section 163 of the BNSS, the validity whereof is the subject matter of W.P.(Crl.) Nos. 427/2026 and 429/2026, pending before us,” the bench said. EXPRESS READ SpiceJet flight delays due to financial woes SpiceJet is unable to pay upfront fee for using airport services in many cities, causing delays and cancellations of its flights, an industry source said. While other airlines pay monthly or quarterly installments, SpiceJet has resorted to daily payments | P7 JD(U) upset with Sonia comment on Nitish Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s remark in her memoirs that former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar left the INDIA bloc in a pre-planned fashion has upset his party JD(U). The party called Gandhi’s comment ‘disrespectful’ and ‘disparaging’ | P8 Coming, mandatory regn for allied health workers K A V I TA B A J E L I - D AT T @ New Delhi IN a bid to streamline India’s unregulated allied and healthcare workforce, the government is planning to introduce mandatory registration for them, just like doctors. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Profession (NCAHP), which comes under the Union health ministry has proposed a new frame, work for provisional registration of healthcare technicians and allied health workers, giving them options for skills upgradation, competency assessment, and transition to regular registration. Allied and healthcare professionals include biotechnologists, physiotherapists, dieticians, nutritionists, community Bridge course The proposed registration framework offers to provide healthcare workers who lack formal qualifications with a bridge course to enhance skills, supervised clinical training, and minimum qualifying examinations. This will help them move towards regular registration and continue practising health workers, radiologists, mental health support staff, and palliative care workers. Officials said the proposed regulation is to bring uniformity, transparency and accountability while creating opportunities for workers to enhance their qualifications and skills. “The aim is to regulate and enforce quality control among all practising allied and healthcare workforce across India,” a health official told this paper. The draft proposes a provisional registration unique identification number (PR UID) to ensure systematic identifica- tion and regulatory oversight. “The draft offers a route for existing allied and healthcare professionals to enter a formal registration system while meeting prescribed competency requirements,” said Prof (Dr) Denny John, senior fellow, Institute of Health Economics, Epidemiology and Translational Sciences, Keralam. Dr John, who is also an adjunct faculty at the Centre for Public Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, said the proposed bridge courses must address the clearly identified gaps in knowledge and practical skills. NCAHP will accept feedback on the Draft Provisional Registration of Allied and Healthcare Professionals Regulations, 2026 till December 4.